Do you ever stop and think about how integral the sensation of touch is to the human experience? Can you imagine going a day without touching another human? Being a nursing assistant brings these thoughts into perspective.

Most of us have a hard time with dependency in a culture that values the opposite. And that’s just the tension that exists in Russo’s tale – a mom who is a die-hard stubborn independent continues this performance for some time, despite functional potential to the contrary. How does a caregiver honor that constant push for autonomy while at the same time being genuine?

Meet Josie, the tell-it-like-it-is former railroad worker I profiled in Aging Our Way. In May she turned 102 years of age, and now folks refer to her as "102." That's because there's one that's 105 not far away.

Wouldn't we all be better off if we laughed more? Bill, at 95, believes that humor is the greatest medicine. He stands on his downtown front stoop and jokes with random passersby. He does the same thing at the grocery store and the bank. If he gets people laughing, he figures he's done his duty for the day.